A close-range effort from Darryl Lachman and a second-half own-goal from Scott Neville proved enough to guide Glory to a battling 2-1 win over ten-man Brisbane Roar at Macedonia Park on Tuesday evening.
View the full match highlights HERE.
The central defender fired home from close-range to give the hosts the lead on 34 minutes and although Connor Chapman levelled for the in-form visitors early in the second half, Glory bagged what proved to be the winner just four minutes later when the luckless Neville could only help Mustafa Amini’s low shot into his own net.
The win, their third in four games at Macedonia Park, lifted Glory to within two points of the top six and Head Coach Ruben Zadkovich was pleased with the character his squad showed to get over the line in what was a tense and cagey clash.
View his full post-match media conference HERE.
“The points were important to us given the position we’re in,” he said.
“We’re happy to take the points from what I thought was a sloppy affair at times.
“The four-day turnarounds for both teams, especially for them with travel, it takes a lot of quality out of the game, I think.
“In the end, we’ll just take the points and move on.
“I definitely think the character and the belief in the group is very strong and we’ve had plenty of opportunities and moments [this season] when the team could have rolled over.
“Bar late in the second half against [Melbourne] City, I think the boys have hung in there pretty well.
“When you’ve got character and spirit, you’ve got a chance and tonight, that was very much on show from our group.
“They didn’t drop their bundle when the other team scored; we stayed in the game and started to wrangle back the momentum ,so that’s a pleasing sign for me.”
With the exception of a well-struck shot from Jack Clisby which drew a smart save from Jordan Holmes in the Roar goal, chances were at a premium in the opening half-hour.
It looked as it it would take something special to break the deadlock and the source of the opening goal was certainly unexpected, Lachman popping up in the Roar box to poke home after Holmes had failed to hold a low cross from Luke Ivanovic.
The visitors responded to that setback by starting the second half brightly and although Cameron Cook managed to keep out a fierce shot from Carlo Armiento, it was the former Glory man who moments later delivered the deep free-kick which Chapman bundled into the net.
The Queenslanders’ soon found themselves trailing once more, however, as they only managed to clear a Ryan Williams cross to Amini on the edge of the box and the home skipper unleashed a stinging low drive which cannoned off Neville and past the stranded Holmes.
Roar soon suffered another body blow when skipper Jay O’Shea picked up a second yellow for a foul on Amini and yet they still managed to make the final moments decidedly nerve-wracking for the Glory faithful.
That tension peaked when Nikola Mileusnic let fly with a stoppage-time free-kick from just outside the box, but it flashed centimetres wide of the post and the three points were Glory’s.
Match Details
ISUZU UTE A-League 2022/23 Season Round 6
Perth Glory 2 (Lachman 34′, Neville (own goal) 60′) Brisbane Roar 1 (Chapman 56′)
Half-time: 1-0
Macedonia Park
Referee: Ben Abraham
Perth Glory: 13. Cameron COOK (gk), 2. John KOUTROUMBIS, 4. Luke BODNAR, 5.Mark BEEVERS, 7.Ryan WILLIAMS, 8. Mustafa AMINI (c) (19. Zach DUNCAN 68′), 12. Luke IVANOVIC (18. David WILLIAMS 56′), 14.Jack CLISBY, 16. Keegan JELACIC (20. Giordano COLLI 68′), 29. Darryl LACHMAN, 43.Adam ZIMARINO (3. Jacob DOWSE 56′)
Substitutes not used: 33. Liam REDDY (gk), 36. Joseph FORDE, 37. Jacob MUIR
Yellow Cards: Amini, Bodnar, David Williams, Duncan
Red Cards: None
Brisbane Roar: 23.Jordan HOLMES (gk), 2. Scott NEVILLE, 3. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 6. Connor CHAPMAN, 10. Nikola MILEUSNIC, 13. Henry HORE (7.Riku DANZAKI 68′), 17. Carlo ARMIENTO (7. Rahmat AKBARI 68′), 19. Jack HINGERT (35. Louis ZABALA 68′), 26. James O’SHEA, 27. Kai TREWIN, 28. Joseph KNOWLES (11. Jez LOFTHOUSE 77′)
Substitutes not used: 1. Macklin FREKE (gk), 16. Joshua BRINDELL-SOUTH, 37. Thomas WADDINGHAM
Yellow Cards: O’Shea
Red Cards: O’Shea
#ONEGlory
